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3-Hydroxypropylmercapturic acid: a biologic marker of exposure to allylic and related compounds.

Urinary excretion of 3-hydroxypropylmercapturic-acid (S-(3- hydroxypropyl)-N-acetyl-L-cysteine) (OHPrMCA) following exposure to allylic compounds was studied in rats to examine the possibility of using OHPrMCA as a biological marker of exposure to allylic compounds that were metabolized to acrolein (107028) and excreted as OHPrMCA in the urine. Male Sprague-Dawley-rats were given 0, 5, 25, 50, 100, or 150mg/kg allylamine-hydrochloride (allylamine), 13mg/kg acrolein (107028), 64mg/kg allylalcohol (107186), 76mg/kg allylchloride (107051), 120mg/kg allylbromide (106956), 115mg/kg allylcyanide (109751), or 160mg/kg cyclophosphamide (50180) by gavage. Twenty four hour urine samples were collected for the next 48 hours and analyzed for OHPrMCA by high performance liquid chromatography. Urine samples from allylamine treated rats contained fairly constant amounts of OHPrMCA, 43.8 to 48.2 percent of the dose being excreted during the first 24 hours and 3 percent during the second 24 hour period. Total urinary excretion of OHPrMCA as a percentage of the dose of the other compounds averaged 78.5 percent for acrolein, 28.3 percent for allylalcohol, 21.5 percent for allylchloride, 3.0 percent for allylbromide, 3.7 percent for allylcyanide, and 2.6 percent for cyclophosphamide. The authors conclude that OHPrMCA may be used as an indicator of exposure to allylic and other compounds that are metabolized to acrolein.